


she keeps me warm

by Talinor



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling, Episode 19 (Critical Role), F/F, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 07:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14711921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: Nights on the road were kinda cold, but as long as the fire was kept up she'd be perfectly fine. She thought it was just gonna be a boring and mildly chilly couple hours.Man, was she fuckin'wrong.





	she keeps me warm

**Author's Note:**

> so I finally caught up on critical role and i Love these two   
> so much  
> this is really self indulgent and written in one go without a beta s o  
> I regret nothing   
> enjoy!!

The night around them was peaceful. Too peaceful. Gentle winds danced with the dying campfire and rustled the grass around their little makeshift campground. The black sky littered with scintillating stars hung overhead like a tapestry, a perfect cloak for someone to hide beneath.

It was the time of night when not a lotta people would bother to be out for anything other than stealing someone's shit or guarding their own shit. Everyone else got to sleep in their comfortable sleeping bags, warm and clinging to comfort. 

Everyone except for the second category of the people still awake. They had to sit at one spot for what felt like fuckin' _eternity_ keeping an eye out for anything suspicious so they didn't all get their stuff stolen or throats slit in their sleep.

It was necessary. Beau got that, and she thought she was ready for it when she volunteered to keep second watch. Nights on the road were kinda cold, but as long as the fire was kept up she'd be perfectly fine. She thought it was just gonna be a boring and mildly chilly couple hours.

Man, was she fuckin' _wrong._

The fire was fine at first, but then it started to flicker out. She tried to get it back up to at least a manageable level, but nothing worked. It was barely noticeable now.

In the fire's absence, she realized something else she was wrong about- nights on the road weren't just 'kinda cold'. They were fucking _freezing._ Her thin-ass coat wasn't helping jack, and it took everything in her not to shake and shiver like a hopped-up little dog. Usually she would, but life decided to throw yet another wrench in her night. That fuckin' _bitch._

This problem was both the best and worst part of the night- her fellow second watch guard, Yasha. Best in the sense that the both of them finally got to be alone together. Worst in the sense that Beau had _no fucking clue what to say now that the both of them finally got to be alone together._

At first they didn't really say much to each other, just... soaking in all the details of the scene around them. The extent of their first 'conversation' was Yasha asking if Beau needed any help while she tried to revive the fire. Instead of accepting the offer, Beau shrugged it off and tried to use the opportunity to impress Yasha by doing it herself like the absolute dumbass she was. 

Eventually she gave up on it, and Yasha didn't say anything. Just played with Frumpkin absentmindedly and kept an eye out. Beau would sneak glances at her more often than she probably should have (but really, how could she _not?_ Yasha was fucking _gorgeous.)_ and Yasha didn't make any indication that she was aware of it.

They passed the time like that for far too long. Beau was starting to get sick of the silence. She needed something to occupy her mind other than looking at Frumpkin, obviously comfortable and purring up a storm under Yasha's gentle touch, and thinking _God, I wish that was me._ So she went for the most obvious conversation starter.

"It's, uh... really beautiful tonight." She deliberately moved her eyes away from Yasha as soon as she spoke. It wasn't really the most subtle thing, but fuck subtlety, right? She doubted that it was even noticeable. That kind of shit was just her luck whenever she tried to talk to Yasha. She'd extend herself out on a limb, and it would barely be acknowledged at best by the only person she actually wanted recognition from.

Wouldn't stop her from keepin' on trying, though. It was bound to work one of these times.

"Yeah," Beau's gaze returned to see Yasha looking up at the sky with the slightest smile quirking up her lips. "It is." 

It was such a simple response, but it meant _far too much_ to her dumbass lesbian heart. It skipped a beat like a stone across the surface of a lake, and happily sunk down into the waters. It sent a slight chill down her spine. That was perfectly fine.

What wasn't perfectly fine was the shivers that finally found an excuse in that slight chill to come up and ruin her little fucking moment. They wracked through her body, the heat of the nearby fire and her flushing skin doing jack _shit_ to make it less noticeable.

Even then, part of her doubted that Yasha would notice. Or if she did, if she would just end up staying quiet about it.

For the second time that night- man, was she fuckin' _wrong._

Yasha immediately looked to her with concern. "Are you alright, Beau?" she asked. "Are you cold?"

In that moment, everything seemed to stop. It was a strange fuckin' chain of events, connected together into a moment that made things both better and worse. First it was the fire's final breath as it blew out, then the wind, and finally Yasha's hand on Frumpkin.

Only one thing moved- Beau's body. Without the warmth of the fire, she had no defenses against the biting chill of the night air. Even when she hugged herself for the slightest pocket of extra warmth from her own body, the shivering barely let out. There was no way she could have possibly hidden it from someone looking right at her. She was shaking like a fucking leaf clinging onto a dying branch in a windstorm. Her mind was racing with potential things to say to get her out of this awkward situation.

Both it and the shivering came to a surprising stop as a wave of warmth washed over her. A new slight weight found itself on her shoulders, and strangely soft fur tickled her cheeks. Smoke was the predominant and most recent smell clinging to it, but Beau could pick up lingering hints of lavender and lily of the valley. It was so purely and succinctly _Yasha_ that her tension in her body was quickly assuaged by the quiet comfort.

Still, she looked to her fellow guard for confirmation of her suspicions. Yasha's shoulders were now bare of her shrug, and the cat previously perched on them now lay on her lap. His eyes were focused on Beau grumpily, like he knew she was the reason for his eviction from his comfortable spot. Her own eyes didn't stay on him long. They trailed all the way up to see Yasha's mismatched gaze warm and quietly admiring the view before her. Their eyes quickly met.

Yasha raised a brow. "Is that better?"

"Yeah," Beau nodded. "Of course it is. Thanks." She grabbed the edges of Yasha's shrug and pulled them completely over her form. "But I, uh... don't think it's gonna be enough. To keep me warm, I mean." She spoke before she could even think about what the hell she even meant by that.

 _Good fuckin' job, Beau._ she thought irritatedly. Now Yasha was looking at her with a mix of confusion and concern, and her dumb ass had to scramble for a justifiable answer. So she went with the first thing that popped into her desperate mind.

She reached into her pockets and scrambled for the pieces centric to her little gamble. They were thankfully easy to collect even with her jittery fingers, and she passed them into Yasha's palm before second thoughts could pop up and ruin the spontaneous wave she rode on.

The confusion on Yasha's face only increased as she looked down upon them. She furrowed her brow. "Beau," she said, glancing up to Beau once again. "...Why did you just give me five gold pieces?"

Beau shot her the most confident smile she could muster. "It's for the rest of what I need to keep warm," she said. "You said it yourself back at the circus- your arms aren't free. I'm just payin' up front." She moved closer to Yasha's side. "So..."

Yasha's brows raised. She stared at Beau with an unreadable expression for a few moments before the clouds cleared and the most beautiful moon decided to grace Beau with the soft rays of her expression. The closest arm to Beau moved around her and pulled her closer. Beau's head found solace nestling in the crook of Yasha's neck. 

The air was still and quiet around them, and the night was peaceful. It was still suspicious as hell, but no matter what happened afterward, Beau was going to enjoy herself in the moment she found herself in. She might never have another opportunity like this. Might as well make the most of this while she still could.

Yasha's other hand drifted over to one of Beau's still-cold hands. It didn't bother her at all, but she wouldn't protest against whatever Yasha decided to do. "Hold on," Yasha instructed her, her voice soft and soothing. "Open up your hand. I'm gonna warm it up for you."

Beau did as she was instructed, only to meet with the light weight of transferring coins. She looked up to Yasha with slightly furrowed brows. Her question was obvious; she didn't need to actually say it.

"Keep your money," Yasha answered. "I don't need it." After she said that, she didn't move her hand away. Didn't even try to.

In that moment, Beau felt more safe and secure and _warm_ than she'd been in...

Well, a pretty damn long time.

**Author's Note:**

> comments are always appreciated! I love feedback from you guys!!  
> my tumblr: squishy--squish


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